Policy Change
by alynwa
Summary: A Drink and a Story tale. Sal explains why agents are allowed to stay with their injured partner.


Illya walked into the office he shared with his partner after having run an errand for Mr. Waverly. As he hung up his raincoat he said, "Napoleon, do you have plans this evening? Sal suggested on my way in that we go to dinner tonight at that new Greek restaurant in the Village."

Napoleon looked up from the reports he was reading. "Sounds good. It's been awhile since we heard one of his stories about the 'Old Days' of UNCLE. I'll call him and let him know it's a plan."

A few hours later found the three men at a back booth in Taramosalata happily eating their way through platters of various Greek delicacies while sipping ouzo and catching up with each other. Finally, even Illya seemed to full at the moment and they leaned back in their seats to relax and savor their meal.

"Sal, this is a very good restaurant. Thank you for suggesting it. If you and Napoleon will permit me, I would be very honored to pay for dinner."

Napoleon's mouth dropped open in shock. "_If? _Sal, you heard him! It must be the ouzo."

They all laughed a moment before lapsing back into silence. After a moment Sal said, "Illya, the last time we shared a meal, you asked how THRUSH had found out about Mr. Waverly's arrival at LaGuardia Airport."*

"I did."

"Well, there was no mole, fortunately. As it turned out, it was bad timing. Alexander was waiting to board a plane in the TWA terminal of LAX from which a low – level bird was disembarking. He called his superiors who relayed the information to the New York satrap who saw an opportunity to cut off the head of UNCLE North America. Luckily for us all, the attempt failed."

"But at a great cost," Napoleon said.

"Yes," Sal sighed, "what made it worse was that Lisa Rogers wasn't in town when this terrible thing happened. She was in Massachusetts on assignment with another Section III. She was told to return immediately. Alexander sat at Baron Schofield's bedside. He felt terrible, especially because he knew of Baron and Lisa's engagement. He kept talking to Baron, asking him to hang on until Lisa got there. He didn't leave the man's side until medical personnel forced him away after Baron went into cardiac arrest."

"When Lisa arrived, he had to tell her the man she loved was dead, but he was also able to tell her that Baron was not alone when he died, that there was someone with him other than medical personnel. She was able to take comfort in that."

"Alexander told me later on that he believed his sitting there made a difference for Baron even though his wounds were too great for him to stay alive and he was convinced that if Lisa had been able to get there, Baron may have lived. Not long after Schofield's death, he let it be known, unofficially, that barring unforeseen circumstances, partners of wounded agents were to be allowed to stay by their partners' side until that agent was either out of danger or dead. Officially, of course, you go where you are told to do what you are told when you are told to do it."

"Wow," Napoleon exclaimed softly, "I've actually never asked, or _cared, _what the policy is regarding my injured partner. If he's hurt, I'm staying in Medical with him and, if I'm injured, I look for him when I regain consciousness."

"I feel the same way, moy droog," Illya added as he motioned for the check. "Sal, every time we go out to dinner, I am educated about how UNCLE came to be what it is today. Thank you."

They stepped out onto the sidewalk and prepared to take their leave. Illya shook Sal's hand and said, "I look forward to our next meal" as Napoleon hailed a cab.

"This is yours, Sal," he said as he held the door open for the senior agent, "Get home safe and tell your lovely wife 'thank you' for letting us play with you."

They watched the cab pull away and began to walk in the opposite direction. "Nightcap, Napoleon? I have scotch at my place."

Napoleon threw his arm around the smaller man's shoulders. "You paid for dinner and now you have scotch for me to drink? We have _got _to eat with Sal more often! Let's go."

*ref. "Dinner and a Tale: Lisa Rogers"


End file.
